Telemarkeast.com

A community forum for all telemark skiers. A place where telemarkers can get together and share experiences, backcountry and ski area conditions, get free instructional help from professional tele instructors and swap and sell used telemark gear.

Have questions about telemark technique? We have invited seven professional telemark instructors to help out with any questions you may have. If you are a never-ever wondering how to start or an expert tele skier wondering how to polish up that mogul run, here is the place to look.

Sometimes we just want to ski but sometimes we want to see how we're skiing. Instructors (aka The PSIA Mafia) do something called movement analysis when they're watching their students because it helps them come up with a lesson plan that actually addresses a deficiency. When I'm watching a student, I'll start at the snow and work my way up. The oft-used expression "the skis don't lie" suggests that by figuring out why the skis are behaving in a particular way will help shape the lesson. After that, I'll move up - looking at the legs, core, arms and shoulders, and finally, the face and head (are they smiling?). Here are some of the things that I am looking at when doing "MA."

Skis: do they move simultaneously or sequentially? Do they make nice arcs or more of a "Z" shape when turning? Do they converge (wedge), diverge (opposite of wedge) or have a reasonably parallel relationship? When and how do they tip on edge? Do they smear or carve? Do the tails follow the tips or take a different route altogether? What does the lead change look like and when does it happen?Legs: are all the joints properly flexed? Is the skier well balanced? What are the lateral, and fore/aft distances between the feet and knees at various points in the turns? Are the legs turning the skis? What are the hips doing? Are they moving with the skis or countering to engage the core? What angles are the shins and thighs creating compared to other body parts (e.g shin of lead ski vs. angle of upper body to the snow)?Core, arms and shoulders: is the core stable, with the legs and skis moving below it? Does it "angulate" or "inclinate" to maintain balance? Does it keep the upper body facing down the fall line, or does it follow the movement of the skis? Are arms and shoulders contributing to, or undermining balance? Do shoulders keep a downhill orientation or are they swinging? Do they simulate the slope of the trail (inside shoulder higher than downhill shoulder) and are they hunched or relaxed? Are hands and arms relaxed? Are hands kept out in front at near waist height? Are they still or are they flailing?Face and Head: Is the head still or moving constantly? Is it helping with balance or creating a weight that has to be accommodated by other body parts? Does it move (or not move) independently of the turning of the skis? Where are the eyes focused? At the skier's feet or some distance down the hill? Is the skier's expression confident, nervous, excited or terrified?

So telemark skiing is a lot of moving parts and analyzing them is what makes instructing both challenging and rewarding. It's easy to get caught up in the minutia, but ignoring the details also contributes to either stagnating or missing out on an opportunity to improve. We're all drawn to telemark for different reasons (too numerous to list....except beer) and not everyone cares about the angle of the shin of the lead ski, but just know that what we do is very complex and a little movement analysis could move your skiing to another level.

Brenda wrote:As someone who occasionally instructs, this is a helpful write-up. The trick is figuring out a way to correct an issue. Still adding to the quiver of tips/drills.

When in doubt....monomark:) Also Brenda, I just shared a post onto the NET Facebook page (to keep it hidden from Dirk and Biff). The original poster asks the question "What is your 5 second tele tip?" Lots of good responses.